Trending Now

You are here

Treasurer hired

The new treasurer for Wapakoneta City Schools says she is looking forward to the position and ready for the challenges it will bring.

Angie Sparks, 36, of Wapakoneta, was unanimously hired Tuesday by Wapakoneta City Schools Board of Education members for the position of treasurer with a starting salary of $71,000 beginning June 1. Her three-year contract ends July 31, 2016.

Until she takes over the role, Sparks is working with treasurer Susan Rinehart, who is retiring at the end of May. During Sparks’ training, she is to be paid $250 per day.

Sparks said she is looking forward to working with the board, superintendent and all the district employees to “keep Wapakoneta a great school district for our children to be educated in.”

“I am very excited and ready for the new challenges it will bring,” Sparks said.

Working 14 years for the state Auditor’s Office in the region, Sparks said her position with the state allows her to transition into the treasurer’s position with the background information of a school district.

“I am able to read reports generated from the district’s system, am aware of the vari-

ous functions of a school district, and am aware of the various state and federal laws pertaining to district finances and thus can help assure compliance with them,” Sparks said.

As an auditor for the state, Sparks said her main focus was determining that financial statements were not materially misstated, meaning that she performed tests to make sure revenues and expenditures were posted to the proper accounts. She also ensured that entities were in compliance with various local, state and federal laws.

Working alongside Rinehart for approximately the next two months should help Sparks better understand the daily intricacies of the job, which she was not exposed to as an auditor, Sparks said. She expects it to help tremendously as she works to gain a better understanding of school finances.

Sparks said she was ready for a new challenge and prepared herself — by taking two required classes and training for 300 hours with Rinehart in 2012 — when she heard of several area treasurers retiring .

“I’m ready to be at one place,” Sparks said. “I’m ready for different challenges, all the new adventures they will bring and the new people I will meet. I am ready to be able to focus on one government entity.”

Board President Eric McKinniss said Sparks was recommended for the position by a committee, which included representatives from the district’s certified and classified staff and the community. She was selected after an in-depth, statewide search.

“We did interview people from different areas,” McKinniss said, sharing they were fortunate to have found a local person with Sparks’ skills and background who is invested in the district.

“She did well throughout the process and we are glad to get her on board,” McKinniss said. “Susan will be hard to replace regardless, but we feel Angie will be able to step up to the plate and quite frankly be around for quite some time.”

The board president thanked all those who helped and all the time they gave to the process of hiring a new treasurer, one of two positions board members select.

Superintendent Keith Horner said he looked forward to working with Sparks.

Sparks and her husband, Mike, have two daughters, Hanna and Audrey, who attend Wapakoneta Elementary School. She graduated from Botkins High School and Bluffton College and has lived in Wapakoneta since 2001.